Hivos believes people should have the freedom to challenge their governments and influence the established order. Access to information and data allows us to do just that.

Speaking Up

“We, the Tagbanuas of Narra, are entitled to have a voice in how our land is used.” Sylvestra Dadison is a community leader of the Tagbanuas, a community living in Narra, the Philippines. It is on her community’s land that a mining company has started operating. “If no one speaks up, indigenous people will always be marginalized,” she adds.

Sylvestra Dadison, photo: Makmende Media / Hivos

According to Philippine law, the mining company must pay one percent of its profit to the community. The community wants to use this to invest in public services such as health facilities, roads, and education. But before they do that, they need to understand the data in the mine’s contracts. How do you figure out how much one percent actually is?

It’s important we understand the information because our future plans for the community depend on that

This is where Bantay Kita, partner organization in Hivos’ Open Up Contracting program, comes in. Bantay Kita works with indigenous communities to improve their understanding and use of data in mining contracts. This way, access to data will eventually allow the community to claim its rights.

Hivos and Open Up Contracting

When governments spend taxpayers’ money on contracts with private companies to provide public goods, services and infrastructure, there is too often room for bad planning, mismanagement and corruption. However, the public contracting process is complex and difficult to understand.

In Open Up Contracting, Hivos and ARTICLE19 work with local civil society, media, activists, businesses and civic watchdog organizations to develop their ability to conduct oversight of these deals. This way they can effectively advocate to change policies and practices, or start strategic litigation, so public contracting becomes more transparent, accountable and efficient.

Watch other videos

Armed with information, people can confront their government and drive social change. Open up water shows how Grenda and our partner MEJN help communities in Malawi to monitor the use of resources and identify fraud.

What's the link between HIV and open data? In Open up health, activist Oscar and our partner Alma from ITPC-LATCA explain the importance of monitoring public spending on HIV treatments.